Belt & Rope Drives
Belt & Rope Drives
Belt & Rope Drives
• Belts run smoothly and with little noise, and cushion motor
and bearings against load changes, although with less strength
than gears or chains.
Types of Belt Drives
• Open belt drives
• Crossed belt drives
• Belt drive with idler pulleys
• Compound belt drive
Open belt drives
• An open belt drive is used to rotate the driven pulley in the
same of driving pulley. In the motion of belt drive, power
transmission results make one side of pulley more tightened
compared to the other side.
Crossed belt drives
• A crossed belt drive is used to rotate driven pulley in the
opposite direction of driving pulley.
Belt drive with idler pulleys
Compound belt drive
Velocity Ratio for Simple Drive
• The ratio between the velocities of driver and driven is known
as velocity ratio.
• Let N1 be the rotational speed of the driving pulley, N2 be the
rotational speed of the driven pulley, d1be the diameter of the
driving pulley, d2 be the diameter of the driven pulley, and t be
the thickness of the belt,
Velocity Ratio
• Neglecting any slip between the belt and the pulleys and also
considering the belt to be inelastic, we can state that speed of
belt on the driving pulley is equal to speed of belt on the
driven pulley:
Velocity Ratio for Compound Drive
• Figure shows compound belt drive, in which pulley 1 drives
pulley 2. However, pulleys 2 and 3 are keyed to the same
shaft; therefore, pulley 1 also drives pulley 3. Pulley 3 drives
pulley 4.
Velocity Ratio for Compound Drive
• Let d1 and N1 be the diameter and speed of pulley 1 in rpm,
respectively, d2 and N2 be the diameter and speed of pulley 2,
respectively, d3 and N3 be the diameter and speed of pulley 3,
and d4 and N4 be the diameter and speed of pulley 4,
respectively.